Chonggang Du “Uncertain”
Gallery: “In this new body of work a crumpled sheet of newspaper is a metaphor for the contorted messages sent to us by the media which has pervasive control over the whole of society”
Shen Shaomin “I am Chinese”
‘Set in Hongjiang village on the Russian border. Hongjiang became a sanctuary for many Russians during WW1, WW2 and the October Revolution. This feature-length movie deals with the lives of these refugees as they recount their trials and transitions of their culture, race and religion as transmigrants. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, some of the Hongjiang Russians and their offspring were suspected of spying, and their village became known as the “Village of Spies”. Wanting to rid themselves of this stigma, the elders advocated marriage only to pure Chinese to mask their Russian appearance. Intermarriages became common and offspring often married their close relatives, with resulting genetic complications and a confused culture. Their only aim was to change their racial features to become pure Chinese, become accepted within the Chinese community, and end the suffering…’ – artist, director Shen Shaomin
